Flower Mound restaurant landscape is growing, healthy

The town of Flower Mound’s restaurant selection is growing faster than its residential development, but it is a sustainable, healthy growth because the new eateries are attracting non-residents to town, according to the town manager.

Residential growth in Flower Mound has been “very flat” in the last five years, according to Town Manager Jimmy Stathatos. It grew at a rate of 4 percent last year and 1 percent the four previous years.

But at the same time, sales tax growth has been around 8-10 percent each year.

“We’re having a lot of new sales based on the new businesses and new restaurants,” Stathatos said. “If we didn’t have the ability to absorb new restaurants, then I think our sales tax growth would be flat.”

Stathatos said the sales tax information shows that lots of new patrons who live in the area are coming in to Flower Mound to dine and shop, “because we don’t have enough new residents to explain the major increase in sales tax.”

The town doesn’t want to do anything to hurt any existing restaurants, Stathatos said, but residents are always interested in bringing in new ones, and because of the sales tax growth, he is “confident that there is room for new restaurants.”

Flower Mound welcomed 20 new restaurants to town in 2017, and nine closed down. Here is a list of all the restaurants — including coffee shops, donut shops and dessert shops — that opened in the town in 2017, according to the town: